Middle Eastern Campaign
The Middle Eastern Campaign was a military campaign initiated by the Chinese-Terran Alliance in February of 12,032. The campaign began with the invasion of Iran and was launched from the Gulf of Oman in response to the continuing conflict in the Middle Eastern region. Unlike previous attempts at stabilizing the region, the Terran Empire led a massive invasion with its allies, the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China. The conflict was, at the time, the longest, most virulent and impactful conflict. It brought peace to the Middle Eastern region, praise from the United Nations and anger from the United States and the Russian Federation. The Gulf of Oman The invasion began in the Gulf of Oman as a surprise to most, with thousands of troops landing within the first day. But the Terran Empire and its allies had only declared war on Iran, as they planned to occupy the entirety of Iran before invading Afghanistan and Iraq. This invasion was the largest land invasion the Terran Empire had undertaken and was a sight to behold. However most believed that the invasion of Iran was unwarranted and more of a means to expand further, while the Terran Empire and allies stated that they would be eliminating a nuclear threat and also bringing peace and prosperity to a region plagued by conflict. It involved the used of infantry, mechanized infantry, paratroopers, rotary and fixed wing and finally extraorbital corps. The invasion also involved naval support and for the first time space navy support or extraorbital support from the TSS Fortuna and Felicitatem. They began by landing infantry and mechanized infantry in the coastal cities of Chabahar, Bandar Abbas and Bandar Bushehr, expanding to the east and west to meet up with one another. While the extraorbital corps landed Ahvaz and Birijand, securing the area around them. By March the Terran Empire and its allies had secured the entire southern coast, and had begun expanding north toward Dezful, Shiraz, Zahedan and Zabol, but were halted near Isfahan, where the consolidated their northern, eastern and western borders, ensuring they were not at threat from Afghanistan or Iraq. Much of the Iranian military had retreated to Tehran and Mashhad where they had entrenched themselves, while the remainder of the Iranian military were separated in various locations, resulting in further entrenchment. Progress had become slow. Due to the Iranian military entrenching itself, the cities of Kerman and Kashan remained unoccupied and effectively surrounded by Terran and allied troops. In early June this cities finally fell and allowed them to continue their expansion north, where once again they encountered the same problem, as three cities became surrounded by Terran and allied troops, these cities being Tehran, Tabriz and Masshad. The forces once again worked on securing the territory around these cities, whilst leaving the surrounded, and by late August Tabriz and Masshad had surrendered, while Tehran remained in Iranian hands, mostly due to the mountains which proved difficult. Finally the Terran Empire and its allies claimed victory over Iran on the 3rd of September. Desert March With Iran secured the Terran Empire and the People's Republic of China looked toward Afghanistan, while the United Kingdom and other Terran Empire forces remained in Iran, to secure the country and its borders.When the Terran Empire and the PRC crossed the Afghanistan border, the United States issued a series of orders to their remaining deployed soldiers. Those near military bases were ordered to evacuate, those near oil fields were ordered to secure them, and those holding strategic positions were told to remain where they were. The Terran Empire began a march across the immediate desert which was relatively unopposed. Once again the invasion involved the use of infantry, mechanized infantry, rotary and fixed wing support, extraorbital corps and for the first time horses. But the invasion began to slow in November as they grew closer to the mountains, however they had no naval support, and as rotary and fixed wing couldn't launch from the navies carriers, they were using an airbase in Iran, close to the Iraqi border. The extraorbital corps became beneficial in the third phase of the operation as it allowed the Terran Empire and the PRC to secure a foothold in the Iraqi mountains, and push forward, by January of 12,033 they held the cities of Maymana, Panjab, Ghazni, and Khost. Making for the Coast The final offensive was a joint invasion of Iraq and Syria, the first cities taken were Basrah, Kut and Kirkuk in May of 12,033. But the Empire and the PRC faced strong resistance as it pushed further into the Iraq, Iraqi, Iranian military and Syrian military had allied together, something that no one had expected. But the Empire pushed on, and with support from the Fortuna and Felicitatem pushed forward, securing Mosul, Baquabah, and Karbala, securing the outskirts of Baghdad by July. In August the Iraqi defence faltered and Baghdad, resulting in a push toward the Syrian border. By August most of Iraq was secured, and the Syrian invasion had begun. Syria had ordered a retreat to Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, allowing the Empire to cross the border almost unopposed, though remnants of ISIS and other such groups attempted to halt their advance. By October the three cities were surrounded, and the coast was in sight. Though the cities were extremely secure, the sight of the coast for the Terran Empire Army and People's Liberation Army aroused them and renewed their attack. By November they had secured all but Damascus, but this didn't stop the soldiers from stripping off and jumping into the ocean, some remained for hours. When they emerged and heard that Damascus had not been taken they marched to Damascus and aided in its liberation. Aftermath The end of the Middle Eastern Campaign finally came when the Terran Empire and the PRC reached the Syrian coast. It was on this coast that the last of ISIS and other groups were eliminated, and where a now famous scene unfolded. When the soldiers finally reached the coast, hundreds of them stripped off and jumped into the ocean, where many remained for hours. In the longer term the Terran Empire, PRC and UK had eliminated a conflict ridden area and a possible future threat. Though the PRC was vital to the invasion, they did not claim any territory due to the devastation and cost of rebuilding the regions. Instead they were granted near unlimited military access in these four territories. The middle eastern borders were redrawn to accommodate for cultural and religious groups, resulting in the creation of seven territories and the seceding of territory to both Lebanon and Azerbaijan. These seven territories are Afghanistan, Free Buluchistan. Iran, Arab Shia State, Free Kurdistan, Sunni Iraq and Syria. For the Empire their expansion into the Middle East was unnerving for the surrounding nations, as well as Europe and the United States. The Empire was able to make peace with Pakistan, Turkey, after providing them with economic and infrastructural support, as well as repatriating many middle eastern refugees. Saudi Arabia however saw the Empire as a major threat and refused all negotiation attempts. See: A New Middle East Category:War Category:Middle East Category:Invasion Category:Victory Category:China Category:Terran Empire Category:United Kingdom Category:Iran Category:Iraq Category:Syria Category:Afghanistan Category:Conflict